If you can only afford one, get a PS3.
I’ve owned a PS3 for a few years and an XBox 360 for a few months, and I can say without the slightest reservation that the PS3 is better. For everything. It has better graphics, it’s faster loading, it’s quieter, the exclusives are more forgiving (memo to the twits who released Popcap Arcade; there’s a REASON always having to start over at the beginning fell out of favor), there are more non-gaming options, and of course there’s Blu-Ray capability, which, combined with a hi-def monitor (which you absolutely should have!), is truly amazing. Plus, although I’ve thankfully never had to find out firsthand, it’s far less likely to suffer a total catastrophic breakdown. (The later 360s are better about this, but you still don’t ever want to leave one running too long, especially with how hard they work.)
About the only reason you should get a 360 (other than your online buddies have them) is if there are certain exclusives that you gotta have. (It was Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 and Deathsmiles, of all things, that finally convinced me.) Its success has a lot more to do with the endless free ride Microsoft gets with the press and their customers than the quality of anything they’ve ever produced. I mean, it’s good, but it’s not a whole lot better than a PS2, and honestly, you’d be hard pressed to find someone in Hawaii who’s a big fan of it.
Don’t worry about all the negative press Sony has gotten, or all the stories about pathetic sales figures and features that were thrown in for no reason. I don’t think a lot of people in 2006, even experts within the industry, ever anticipated just how big downloadable content, Blu-ray, networking, or nongaming features (especially movies) would ever become. The point is, they intended this system to be an improvement over the PS2. Power and versatility cost money. Everyone knows this. Which translates to lesser sales, at least in the short run. No surprise here either. Nobody had any chance of competing against Nintendo on the fun-for-the-whole-extended-family front. It’s ridiculous to judge them negatively for coming in last in a “war” they never had any interest in fighting in the first place. My point is, if you don’t see any benefit in a state-of-the-art video format or downloadable content now, there’s a chance you will somewhere down the line, and you’ll be glad to have been so farsighted.
As for the Wii*, I’ll just do a quick summary:
Reasons to get a Wii
- You’re a big fan of light gun games.
- You’re a big fan of dance games.
- You’re a big fan of oldschool arcade analog controls.
- You use multiplayer/party options a lot.
- You want something that can keep the kids entertained for a long time.
- You’re trying to get into shape.
- You prefer entertainment that allows you to stay active.
Not reasons to get a Wii
- It’s #1 in sales.
- The NES is the only console you know anything about.
- Seriously, it’s completely demolishing the XBox 360 and PS3 in sales!
- It’s Nintendo! Nintendo is always the best, right?
- SALES! SALES! SALES! SALES! SALES!
- It was a gift, okay? I don’t like Punch-Out that much.